Pacific Rim- a 10 year old's review

Rating: 8/10 (26 August 2013)

Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim is one of those movies that shouldn't have worked. The plot feels like an elongated episode of the Power Rangers, the climax is as predictable as your stomach after a sack full of Krystals, the acting is decent at best, the character development is almost non-existent, and the back story is more reminiscent of the NES classic Rampage than a movie that will go down as one of the best movies of 2013. But I loved it, every single moment of it.
It was fantastic, and shows how a dominant director like Del Toro can take a theme that is so ingrained in our childhood psyche, as he has done with every movie he's ever made, and turn it into gold. Pacific Rim can be summed up in three magically beautiful words, words that bring me back to all the pictures I doodled in elementary school when I was supposed to be bettering my education and future career options. Three words that make my heart beat fast and convince me that as a people, we are all internally good and our future is hopeful.
Robots versus monsters. Now take a moment and let your imagination run free.
The basic story line of Pacific Rim is there is a planet far, far away that is sending Cloverfield-style monsters (any of which would've been better than the actual Cloverfield monster) known as the Kaiju to our shores to kill us all through a portal in the ocean. After the first few, we decided to come up with an initiative to battle them, called the Jaeger Program. This plan consists of building massive robots called Jaegers, which are controlled internally by humans, to defend us from the oncoming creatures. Since one brain can't handle the overall input needed to command these massive robots, it takes two brains to sync for a successful compatibility. Our lead protagonist Raleigh Beckett (Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam) and his brother Yancey become one the first really successful pairings in their Jaeger named 'Gypsy Danger'. But soon things go bad and eventually Raleigh quits the force to become a construction worker for no understandable reason. Eventually he's brought back when most of the Jaegers have been wiped out due to the relentless attacks by the Kaiju, and then spoilers happen.
There's more of course, but that's enough to make the ten year old inside of go giddy. However that's the same ten year old who begged for Sea Monkeys and a Power Glove, so I have to remain subjective as there were many things wrong with Pacific Rim.
For instance, the basic plot of gigantic robots fighting monsters is obviously awesome in theory, but has been done many, many times without much success, unless you're from Japan or the director of Robot Warriors. Also the character development feels thrown in at the last moment, as some major characters have either very little or completely random plot points, e.g. Stacker Pentecost's (the talented Idris Elba) past with Jaegers or Del Toro favorite Ron Perlman who shows up mid- movie without any background. Furthermore there's not a lot of explanation as to the Kaiju, apart from a five minute intro that explains about forty minutes of back story.
But it's in this vagueness that Pacific Rim manages to actually work, which is incredible. By not focusing too much on the plot development or characters themselves, the viewer is allowed to concentrate more on the main point of the film, i.e. robots fighting giant aliens. And in that aspect, Del Toro does not disappoint.
The fight scenes are incredible, with stunning graphics that prove our CGI capabilities have finally reached levels that would make Ed Wood angry. There isn't a moment when you aren't fully immersed, as the details that went into the battles are so minute. Whether it's the waves splashing against the metal robots or the muscle movement of the Kaiju, the viewer is constantly captivated and never disassociates from the action. Pacific Rim really is the epitome of a movie that you need to see in the theaters, understanding full well that it cost $55 minimum to take a date who's got candy and cokes stuffed in her purse.
Leave work and go see Pacific Rim right now, as it's more satisfying than a job. Your ten year old self will thank you, because he/she is probably still angry that all that came in the mail was brine shrimp.